Elements
by PJ in NH
Summary: R/S - It begins with Malcolm sharing a memory with Hoshi during a rain storm on an alien planet. How it ends is a weathering experience.
1. Rain

Title: Rain  
Contact: kelhapam@metrocast.net  
Series: ENT  
Rating: G  
Code: R/H  
Part: 1/1 NEW   
Date: January 19, 2002  
  
Summary: Malcolm shares a memory with Hoshi during a rain storm.  
  
Disclaimer: Paramount owns all the characters, etc., I am just  
using the characters for a little fun and relaxation.  
  
Note of Appreciation. Special thanks to my beta readers: P.J.  
Sutherland, Annie M., and Ronda Sexton.   
  
Posting: Please notify me before you do.  
  
Rain  
  
01/19/02  
  
  
  
Hoshi looked up from a her personal log she had been working on  
for several minutes and made note of their accommodations. The  
building was constructed simply, of some type of wooden material  
with a flat roof--a flat leaky roof. It smelled of mildew and  
age. Obviously it had sat unused and unaired for a long time.   
There was dust everywhere.   
  
Across the room, she could see the Captain was resting against  
one of the shelter's walls, trying to get some sleep so he'd be  
prepared for what might befall them in the morning. To her  
surprise though, she noticed Lt. Reed was missing.   
  
Pulling on her jacket, she ventured out of the shelter and into  
the rain. There, leaning up against the structure, stood  
Malcolm. He seemed to be focused on the storm, she'd never seen  
him look so introspective.  
  
"Penny for your thoughts, Lieutenant?" Hoshi asked as she  
approached him.   
  
Startled, Malcolm turned towards her. "It's nothing," he  
murmured and moved to walk pass her.   
  
Quickly, the communications officer grasped his arm. "Talk to  
me, Malcolm," she urged.   
  
He didn't look at her, whether out of embarrassment or something  
deeper she wasn't sure.  
  
"Talk to me," she asked again and squeezed his arm noting the  
muscle beneath the sleeve.   
  
He paused, inhaling deeply and then slowly releasing the breath.   
"Just a memory," he finally replied in a voice so low Hoshi  
almost didn't hear it.   
  
"I'm a good listener," she insisted.   
  
Pulling on his arm she maneuvered the quiet man over a phile of  
abandoned sacks beneath the eave. Folding her legs under  
herself, Hoshi sat down on the bags and pulled him down to join  
her. Hoshi was surprised when he followed her, and even more  
amazed when he did as she bid.  
  
They sat for a moment, both looking out at the storm before Hoshi  
spoke. "Tell me about the rain, Malcolm. What is it you're  
remembering."  
  
He drew his mouth into a fine line and raising his head looked up  
into the downpour. Blown raindrops spattered on his chiseled  
facial features.  
  
"It was a long time ago," he began looking back down though not  
focusing on her, "and it seems even longer. Maybe it's because  
we are so far away from home."   
  
"Yeah, I know what you mean. It seems like we've been away from  
home for a lot longer than a few months."  
  
"It's been a lot longer than that since I've been home," he  
admitted.  
  
"And the rain reminds you of that?"  
  
He nodded, not trusting himself to speak.  
  
When he finally spoke, Hoshi had to listen very hard to hear him  
over the sound of the storm. "It was raining like this one  
evening. It was late, very late...too late. I had misjudged the  
time and was hurrying down the road to get home."  
  
Hoshi released the hold she still had on his arm and patted his  
hand urging him to tell his story. "You must have been soaked."  
  
"Yeah I was, I was drenched. I think I was about twelve or  
thirteen at the time, and I was seriously close to missing  
curfew."   
  
Malcolm paused for a moment and Hoshi could tell he was reliving  
that experience. She almost thought he wouldn't say anything  
else when he inhaled sharply and began again.  
  
"I was running along the road not even caring if I was stepping  
into a puddle or not. Didn't really matter, my feet were already  
soaked. But I misjudged one of the puddles. I couldn't see the  
rock beneath the surface of the water and I took a tumble --  
turned my ankle I guess."  
  
Hoshi grimaced at the image conveyed by his words.   
  
Malcolm chuckled, but the. "I must have been a sight to behold -  
- wet, dirty, and limping."  
  
Hoshi smiled, encouraging him to continue.  
  
"I finally made it to the house, but I was late. I used my  
activation code to unlock the door, but it didn't work."  
  
"Why didn't it work?"  
  
"He'd changed it."  
  
She thought for a moment before replying. "Your father?"  
  
"Everything by the book don't you know. He'd warned me in the  
past that if I were to come home after curfew to not bother to  
come home at all. The door would be locked."  
  
"Didn't you rap on the door? The windows?" Hoshi asked. She was  
appalled that a father would lock his own son out of his home.  
  
Malcolm grinned again, this time she could see a little victory  
behind the expression. "Wouldn't give him the satisfaction."   
  
"So what did you do?"  
  
"We had an old shed out back, rather like this place." He  
motioned to the shelter. "I think it had been there for ages.   
It was all but falling down. The only thing we kept in it was  
some old tools and lawn furniture, and Rufus."  
  
"Rufus? Who's Rufus?"  
  
"My dog, a large black Labrador retriever. Father wouldn't allow  
him in the house, so Rufus would spend the nights in the shed.   
And that night so did I. We huddled together that night for  
warmth and in the morning after father left to go into town, I  
snuck back into the house."  
  
"But what did your mother say?" Hoshi inquired.  
  
"Not much -- Mum never did. To be honest, I never knew what she  
saw in the old man." Malcolm shrugged the thought away like he  
had so many times before. "Mum fixed me up, gave me clean  
clothes to wear, something to eat, and I headed back out again."  
  
"That's terrible," Hoshi breathed, hardly believing that Malcolm  
had shared this part of his past with her.   
  
"After that, it just didn't seem too much like home any more."   
  
A comfortable silence enveloped the pair for several minutes  
before Hoshi spoke.  
  
"Malcolm?"  
  
He turned to face her, hardly believing that he shared this  
moment of his past with the beautiful woman. "Yeah?"  
  
"Thanks."  
  
He looked puzzled. "For what?"  
  
"For sharing a little of yourself with me," she squeezed his hand  
expressing her sincerity.   
  
"I never told anyone about that. To be honest, I don't know why  
I even thought about it now."  
  
Hoshi smiled softly at Malcolm. "Perhaps you feel that you can  
trust me?"  
  
He thought for a moment and then nodded. He looked back out upon  
the storm.   
  
"I think the rain's lessening. The storm is coming to an end,"  
he remarked.  
  
Reaching out, Hoshi placed her fingers upon his chin and turned  
his face toward her. "Yeah, I think it is."  
  
  
The End  
  
Email please to: kelhapam@metrocast.net 


	2. Ice

Title: Ice  
Contact: kelhapam@metrocast.net  
Series: ENT  
Rating: G  
Code: R/H  
Part: 1/2 NEW   
Date: February 03, 2002  
  
Summary: Hoshi is more intent upon finding out more about  
Malcolm, and someone on board is determined to make things  
difficult for Malcolm and Hoshi. Sequel to "Rain."  
  
Disclaimer: Paramount owns all the characters, etc., I am just  
using the characters for a little fun and relaxation.  
  
Note of Appreciation. Special thanks to my beta readers: P.J.  
Sutherland, Tracy S., and Ronda Sexton.   
  
Posting: Please notify me before you do.  
  
Ice  
  
02/03/02  
  
  
Hoshi fixed a cup of tea, curled up on her sofa and took out her  
dataPADD.   
  
  
  
With a sigh, Hoshi turned the dataPADD off. If she did call  
Madeline Reed, she'd try and use the communications console next  
to the maintenance port as it was the most remote, and thus the  
most confidential. Tomorrow after her shift would be a good  
time, Madeline should be home from work by then.  
  
* * * * * *  
  
Sitting at her post the next morning, Hoshi stole a glance  
towards Malcolm's station. As usual he was intent on his task,  
never sparing a glance across the bridge unless he had to  
interact with a member of the crew to get his job done. Hoshi  
had never seen anyone so dedicated to his job. Even the Captain  
took time to crack a joke and chat casually with the crew. It  
wasn't right, Hoshi decided suddenly. Malcolm should be so  
serious all of the time. If what her initial conversation with  
his sister had revealed was true, he did have a sense of humor.   
If only she could find it.  
  
Hoshi looked back over toward Malcolm again and was surprised to  
find him looking back at her. She smiled. Quickly he averted  
his gaze and she could see his cheeks begin to blush. Who would  
expect an armory officer to be shy around women? Certainly not  
herself.   
  
"Captain, the sensors have picked up some type of spacecraft off  
our port bow."   
  
Archer nodded. "T'Pol?"  
  
The Vulcan scanned her computer screen before replying. "Sensors  
are not detecting any atmosphere inside the craft." T'Pol turned  
to analyze her bioscanner.  
  
"Malcolm?"  
  
"I show no signs of any energy source," at least nothing still  
active."  
  
"And I find no evidence of any life on board, Captain." T'Pol  
added pivoting away from her console to face the Captain once  
again.   
  
"Is it safe to bring the ship on board for examination?" Archer  
asked.   
  
T'Pol examined her readouts again before replying. "Yes. We can  
wear EV suits to conduct the examination until the doctor is able  
to determine it is safe."  
  
Archer nodded. "Very good, once the ship is safely aboard, Lt.  
Reed and Subcommander T'Pol you'll investigate. Oh your way down  
to the shuttlebay, swing by Engineering and have Commander Tucker  
join you."   
  
* * * * * * * *  
  
Tentatively, with Reed in the lead, the trio clad in their EV  
suits, opened the ship's hatch and ventured inside. Their  
flashlights cast an eerie glow around the interior of the tiny  
vessel.   
  
"Doesn't seem to be anyone in here," Trip noted. "Doubt if the  
ship's seen any life in here for a while." He ran a gloved  
finger along one of the seats creating a furrow in the powdery  
substance. "Will ya look at the dust in here! My Aunt Louise  
would turn over in her grave to see all this mess!"  
  
"Fortunately, Commander, your Aunt Louise is not on Enterprise,"  
T'Pol replied dourly.   
  
Reed ignored the pair and continued his inspection of the ship.   
He noted that it looked a lot like one of their shuttlepods.   
There was room for four occupants, though from the size of the  
seats located at each station, the occupants must have been no  
more than a meter tall. It reminded the Brit of the scale of the  
desks back in his comprehensive school days. On the console of  
the ship, he noted what appeared to be handwritten scratchings.  
They were written on a cloth-like scroll which was attached just  
below the surface of the console. Two toggle-type switches  
appeared to control the movement of the surface of the cloth.  
  
"Lieutenant," T'Pol called out from the rear of the ship, "there  
is something here you should see."  
  
Malcolm lifted his head and, noting her location, moved to join  
her. Trip followed.  
  
"If I am not mistaken..."  
  
Reed doubted if she was ever mistaken, at least not that she'd  
admit it to herself.  
  
"...this is their armory."  
  
Malcolm looked around. "Hhhmph! Doesn't look like much of one,"  
he said. "Then again, nothing in here looks very impressive."  
  
"Not every culture uses size as a criteria for judging an item's  
value," T'Pol noted.  
  
"True. Some of us judge it by how well it goes boom," Reed  
remarked.  
  
Trip looked at T'Pol quite seriously. "And sometimes size  
matters a great deal. Trust me."  
  
T'Pol sighed and turned away to scan the ship's walls. She'd  
never understand humans.   
  
The two men looked at each other and grinned knowingly. It did  
their heart good to take a jab at the Vulcan and leave her  
perplexed.  
  
"I think I'm going to bring back some portable lights so we can  
see better," Trip remarked ignoring T'Pol. "Shouldn't take more  
than a minute or so."  
  
"Okay, Commander." Stepping closer, Reed noted what appeared to  
be torpedo bays. On the wall hung some of the torpedoes  
themselves. Scanning them, Malcolm noted he couldn't obtain any  
reading beneath their surface. Visually examining their surface  
he noted what appeared to be writing. It looked similar to what  
he had seen on the scrolls in the main cabin.   
  
"Subcommander," Reed called out. "I think we should get Ensign  
Sato down here to look at this."  
  
"What did you find, Lieutenant?" T'Pol asked. She returned to  
the armory to join him.  
  
"I'm unable to scan through to the interior of these torpedoes.   
But there is some type of writing on their surface. If she can  
decipher their meaning, it might help me to examine them."  
  
"I fail to see how examining them would benefit this ship or its  
crew. We can simply jettison these munitions, and explode them a  
safe distance from Enterprise using our phasers."  
  
Reed paused and drew a deep calming breath. He knew from past  
experience, the best way to approach the Vulcan was with his  
emotions controlled. "I feel the best way to be prepared for  
what we might find out here, is to examine everything. Perhaps  
this is some type of weapon we've never seen before. Or perhaps  
the writings will reveal other information which will benefit the  
safety of Enterprise."  
  
T'Pol considered his words and nodded. "Very well."  
  
  
  
Hesitantly, Hoshi entered the small ship. Before her arrival  
Phlox had determined the ship was now safe to enter without an  
environmental suit. Hoshi was grateful for that, as the suits  
were cumbersome.  
  
Not finding anyone in the main cabin, she proceeded to the rear  
of the ship. There she found Malcolm laying on his back intently  
examining the underside of one of the torpedoes. One of the  
members of the armory crew knelt beside him. She stood quietly  
waiting for them to finish their work.  
  
"Did you see how I did this, Crewman Wyse?" Reed asked.  
  
"That's just how *I* did it, Sir," Edward Wyse remarked.  
  
"You have to carefully and securely attach the straps to each of  
the torpedoes. The last thing we need is for one of them to be  
dislodged. There's no telling what damage might be caused. Next  
time, double check your work and make sure all the straps are  
snug in place."  
  
"Yes, Sir."   
  
Malcolm nodded. "Now you can go back to the Armory and finish  
your assignment there."   
  
"Yes, Sir." The words were spoken with an edge to them. Wyse  
exited the armory and moving past Hoshi flashed her a smile. He  
was very easy to look at she determined. He was tall and had  
dark wavy hair. She smiled back at him in turn.  
  
Turning back toward the Lieutenant, she waited for him to notice  
her presence. After several minutes past, she spoke up.  
  
"You said you needed my help, Lt. Reed?"  
  
No response.  
  
Hoshi cleared her throat.  
  
Malcolm's attention was diverted from his task. "Oh, Ensign, I-I  
didn't see y-you." Rising up to his elbow, Malcolm's skull made  
hard contact with the torpedo casing. "Bloody hell!" he  
exclaimed rubbing his head.   
  
"Are you okay?" Hoshi knelt down beside him and instinctively  
brought her hand up to rest on his shoulder.  
  
He quickly scrambled to his feet, brushing off her assistance.   
"I-I'm fine." Reed looked at her blankly for a long moment, his  
tongue tied.  
  
"You said you wanted me to come down. That you had something to  
show me?" Hoshi prodded.   
  
"Oh-oh, yes." He turned back towards the torpedoes. "I was  
hoping you'd be able to figure out what these markings meant."   
He pointed to an engraved area on the weapon.  
  
Hoshi moved closer and ran her slender fingers over the area.   
She examined each of the torpedoes before she finally stepped  
back. "I'm afraid there isn't much here to go on, Mal--  
Lieutenant. Unless there is something on the ship with more  
writing on it..."  
  
"Oh, there is," he exclaimed. "In the main cabin." Leading her  
to one of the consoles, he pointed out the scroll and the text  
contained upon it. "Does this help?"  
  
Hoshi smiled. She loved a puzzle and this one certainly seemed  
to have the makings for it.  
  
She nodded. "I think it might, Lieutenant. Is there anyway to  
remove the scroll so I can examine it in my quarters?"  
  
"I think so, I'll see to it myself. I'll have it brought to your  
quarters later."  
  
Hoshi placed a hand on his upper arm. "You do know I don't bite,  
don't you, Malcolm?  
  
Reed swallowed hard. "Of-of course, Ensign."  
  
With a soft smile, Hoshi left the ship. Figuring it would take  
Malcolm a while to remove the scroll, she decided to take the  
opportunity to contact his sister.   
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Hoshi sat down in front of the monitor. It was 1730 hours and  
most of the crew were in the Mess Hall for their evening meal.   
She queued up Madeline Reed's access number and placed the call.   
She'd almost given up, when finally the connection was complete.   
  
:::"Ah, Ensign Sato, I didn't expect to be speaking with you  
again so soon.":::  
  
Just like the last time she spoke with Malcolm's sister, Hoshi  
felt at ease with the woman. It was hard to believe she was  
Malcolm's sister, for Madeline appeared to be very open and  
friendly. There was no hint of the emotional distance her  
brother favored.   
  
"I'm so sorry to bother you," Hoshi began. She noted the woman's  
disheveled appearance and what appeared to be soil upon the front  
of her shirt.   
  
:::"Believe me it is a welcome respite. I apologize for my  
appearance, but if I don't get the tomato plants in the ground,  
we'll never have fresh tomatoes before the end of summer.":::  
  
"You still grow your own vegetables?" Hoshi asked.  
  
:::"Well I at least like to put in a few tomato plants, if I do  
nothing else. There's nothing like the taste of a garden grown  
tomato. But I don't think that's why you called me, is it? Is  
it Malcolm? Is my brother all right?":::  
  
Hoshi smiled. "No, that isn't why I called. And yes, Malcolm is  
fine."   
  
:::"But?":::  
  
"Well, I guess to be blunt, Malcolm has me puzzled."  
  
:::"You wouldn't be the first. Like I told you last time, my  
brother is a difficult person to get to know.":::  
  
"I'm finding that out even more since our past conversation.   
Since we last spoke, I've been trying to get to know him better.   
I've tried talking to him, but he always seems to abruptly  
terminate the conversation."  
  
Madeline nodded. :::"It sure sounds like Malcolm. Have you ever  
heard the saying 'still waters run deep'?":::  
  
Hoshi nodded.  
  
:::"I think whomever came up with that saying must have had  
Malcolm in mind."::: Madeline twisted the gardening gloves she  
had clutched in her hands. She appeared to be in deep thought  
considering what she would say next. After several moments of  
silence, she looked up at the communications officer. "There is  
one thing I can tell you, Hoshi, if you can ever establish a  
dialog with my brother, you won't regret it. When he makes  
friends, it's for life. There is only one problem. After you  
cross that threshold--going from acquaintance to friend, or to  
even something more binding--if that link is ever severed, he  
falls hard. I've seen it happen once before a few years ago and  
I pray I never see it happen again.":::   
  
This was information Hoshi had hoped to uncover. An insight on  
what made Malcolm tick. "Did that happen while he was in  
Starfleet?" she queried.  
  
:::"Yes. I don't know the particulars. To be honest, even if I  
did, I wouldn't feel it was appropriate to share the information  
with you without his permission.":::  
  
"I can certainly understand, Ms. Reed."  
  
:::"Please, Hoshi, call me Madeline."::: Her smile was warm and  
genuine.  
  
"Of course, Madeline." A chime sounded indicating she had only a  
short time left to complete the call. "I only have a few more  
minutes left. I want to thank you for helping me."  
  
:::"Anytime, dear. It is good to know someone on the ship cares  
about Malcolm. Are you the morale officer as well as the  
communications officer?" Madeline asked.  
  
Hoshi blushed. "Well, not officially."  
  
:::"Well I have a feeling you'd be very good at that job.":::  
  
The younger woman grinned shyly. "Thank you. Um...Madeline?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"I think you should plant some pineapples."  
  
"Pineapples?"  
  
"Trust me."  
  
* * * * * *  
  
Malcolm Reed stood outside of Ensign Sato's cabin for several  
minutes before he finally pressed a button to announce his  
presence. When he heard Hoshi beckon for him to enter, he almost  
jumped out of his skin. he admonished himself.   
  
"Lt. Reed, is that you?" she called out.  
  
Pushing a button to open her door, Malcolm bravely entered her  
cabin. What he saw stopped the armory officer in his tracks.   
Hoshi stood in the center of her quarters. She was wearing  
something very soft and feminine and she had unpinned her hair.   
The raven tresses fell silkily down past her shoulders  
complimenting the red color of her blouse.  
  
"I h-have your scrolls," he remarked. He held out his hands  
holding the four scrolls toward her.  
  
Hoshi's eyes widened. "Scrolls?" she questioned emphasizing the  
plural. "You didn't tell me you had four of them!" Giddily she  
approached the Lieutenant.   
  
Clumsily Malcolm passed them to her, but not before one landed on  
the deck. Embarrassed, he bent over to retrieve the dropped  
scroll. Hoshi knelt at the same time, which caused their heads  
to bump together.   
  
Rising to her feet, she massaging her head. "I'm so sorry,  
Malcolm."  
  
Malcolm rubbed his own head for the second time that day. "It's  
all right, Hoshi. It's my fault. If I hadn't dropped them..."  
  
"No, no, you see if I hadn't been so eager to see them," she  
countered.  
  
"You-you aren't upset there are four? Isn't that more work for  
you?" He passed the fourth scroll to her.  
  
"One is great, but four is better--much better. I like solving  
puzzles. The more the better."   
  
Reed smile slightly, nodded, and turned to exit the cabin.  
  
"You don't have to leave right away."  
  
"I have some work to do back in the armory," he explained, not  
looking back at her.   
  
"It's almost 2100 hours, Malcolm. Even the captain rests."  
  
Looking over his shoulder he replied, "And I'll rest too after I  
have secured the Armory for the evening. Thank you for your  
concern, Ensign. Please let me know if you're able to find out  
anything."  
  
"I will. Good night, Lieutenant."  
  
* * * * * *  
  
Hoshi eased in the seat beside Ensign Jack Shafer. She'd stayed  
up most the night perusing the scrolls and in the end only came  
up with a headache, but she was determined not to give up. Right  
now though, her body cried out for companionship and nourishment.   
  
A few weeks ago she had asked Jack about Lt. Reed's favorite  
food. Even though Ensign Shafer had worked with Malcolm at his  
last assignment, he didn't have any clue as to what Malcolm liked  
to eat. That didn't mean, however, Jack didn't know about other  
things regarding the enigmatic lieutenant, and this provided a  
good opportunity to question him.  
  
Jack, his mouth full of Chef's latest creation, smiled at the  
communications officer.   
  
"Do you mind if I sit here? Or were you saving it for someone?"   
  
Ensign Shafer swallowed. "Of course not. Have a seat, Hoshi."  
  
"Thanks." Hoshi removed the items from her tray and put them on  
the table. Unfolding her napkin she placed it on her lap.  
  
"I'm sorry I couldn't be more help to you a few weeks ago," Jack  
said. Picking up his cup, he sipped carefully at his steaming  
cup of coffee.   
  
Forking some broccoli into her mouth, Hoshi, chewed and  
swallowed. "That's okay, I did find out the answer to my  
question. I'm sorry I haven't had the time until now to thank  
you for helping me."  
  
"Like I said, I really didn't do anything. I didn't know a thing  
about what Lt. Reed likes to eat."  
  
"I know, but I still appreciated your help."  
  
Jack nodded. "Malcolm is not a very easy person to get to know,  
and I even worked with him for three years."  
  
"You must have learned something about him during the three  
years," Hoshi probed.  
  
Jack blew across the surface of the coffee and contemplated the  
question. "Well, he's a hard task master -- but fair. When he's  
tired sometimes his temper will snap, but he cools downs quickly.   
Malcolm works as hard or harder than anyone else on his team, but  
I don't have to tell you that." He smiled and shook his head.   
"Always has his head in his dataPADD calculating something which  
will go boom. He's all business." Pausing, Jack smiled sadly  
and stabbed a piece of chicken. "Of course there was Diane."  
  
Hoshi tried to appear nonchalant. "Diane?"  
  
"Crewman Diane Lawton to be precise. Blonde, petite, and a  
figure that..." Jack curbed his tongue and blushed. "Sorry,  
Hoshi."  
  
She grinned at his faux pax. "So I take it she was easy on the  
eyes?"  
  
He nodded. "That's one way to put it, as long as you didn't look  
too deep."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
Jack placed his cup back down on the table and looked right at  
Hoshi. He was very serious. "Malcolm should have looked beneath  
the surface, but Diane had him blinded. Everyone else could see  
it except him."  
  
"I take it she hurt him?"  
  
Jack's good mood from before had completely vanished. "He wasn't  
the same after."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"To be perfectly blunt, the bitch was using him. Thought dating  
a lieutenant would help advance her career. When she was passed  
over for a promotion, she dumped him. And when the brass found  
out he was seeing someone in his department of a lower rank, they  
froze his advancement. He's still working to get the next  
promotion."   
  
The object of their discussion chose that moment to enter the  
mess hall. Picking up a tray of food, he sat himself at a lone  
table, his back to Hoshi and Jack. Malcolm proceeded to eat his  
meal while he studied a dataPADD. The communications officer  
recalled a similar meal a few weeks ago with the enigmatic  
lieutenant.   
  
"Still waters run deep," Hoshi whispered recalling Madeline's  
words.   
  
Jack nodded. "In Malcolm's case I think the water's all but  
froze. Oh, he never was as outgoing as say, Commander Tucker,  
but he wasn't as reserved as he is today."  
  
"That's a shame," Hoshi concluded, focused on the armory officer.  
  
"A crying shame." Jack concurred. "Wish I could stay and talk,  
but I'm due on the bridge in five minutes."  
  
"No problem, Jack. Thanks for the conversation."  
  
With a nod, Jack Shafer left the mess hall.  
  
Across the dining hall, another pair watched Hoshi.   
  
"I'm gonna do it. I'm going to ask her out."  
  
"Well, I wish you luck, Eddie, but I thought you didn't like the  
Captain's pet. If I remember right, that's what you called her  
when she came on board."  
  
"My friend, that's not the point now it is?"  
  
"And what is the point?" Crewman Ron Jeffords asked, puzzled at  
his friend's question.  
  
"The point is, is that he wants her," he motioned with his fork  
towards Lt. Reed. "I've seen the way he looks at her when she  
thinks he isn't looking. I've heard the way he stutters when  
he's around her--it's so pathetic. And I'm determined not to let  
that British bastard have her."  
  
"Even though you don't like her?"  
  
"Right."  
  
"Wait a minute. Does this have something to do with the  
other..."  
  
"It has everything to do with it," Eddie snapped. His eyes  
previously a lit with devious joy, quickly had hardened. They  
looked as cold as ice. "No one makes an ass out of Eddie Wyse  
and gets away with it."  
  
"Just be careful."  
  
"*You* be careful, Ron, and keep your mouth shut, or I'll let  
Archer know you snuck booze on board the ship."   
  
Leaving behind his friend, Eddie moved to sit beside Hoshi. His  
plan was about to begin.  
  
* * * * * *  
  
With sweat still glistening on his pectorals, Malcolm Reed,  
draped a towel around his neck, picked up his dataPADD and began  
recording.  
  
ter herself, and  
Wyse won't hurt her. Because damn it, if he does, he'll be  
answering to me--me and a torpedo with his name on it.  
  
End log.  
  
  
The End? Naw...  
  
Email please to kelhapam@metrocast.net   
  
If you are interested in the Malcolm-Hoshi relationship. Please  
visit http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MHExplosion/. 


End file.
